Community Solutions Conference

The Nottinghamshire Community Solutions Conference

This solutions focused event, is an interactive conference for parents, carers and the wider community around ending weapon enabled violence (specifically, knife crime) and gang related activity amongst young people.

The conference aims to bring senior representatives from statutory agencies, key services and experts, together with parents and carers of young people who are involved in or on the periphery of knife crime.

Topics for discussion will include exploring the underlying issues, the use of social media in relation to gang activity/violence and hearing the voices of people from black and minority ethnic communities.

Panel members will have 2-3 minutes to provide an update from their respective services including concerns, gaps and successes (optional). We will be joined by special guests, Alex Beresford (ITV’s Good Morning Britain), and Sheldon Thomas (Gangsline UK).

The event will be hosted by Professor Cecile Wright (Nottingham University).

Conference aims:

To bring together parents, carers and members of the local community with statutory agencies and academic or other experts.

To be interactive, with the audience invited to ask questions, share thoughts and feedback.

To listen to the views of parents, carers and members of the community and enable a direct dialogue.

To provide an opportunity to explore the successes and progress made in tackling knife crime and build on best practice.

To explore how relationships between statutory agencies (such as the police, youth offending services, etc.), parents, carers and the wider community can be strengthened and improved.

To provide parents, carers and the wider community with information about local and national services and support.

Outcomes/Objectives:

Parents, carers and members of the wider community will:

feel able to identify when young people are at risk of being involved with knife crime;

have information about safe ways to raise concerns and get advice and support;

have the confidence to report concerns and seek support;

be reassured that agencies will work with parents and communities to keep young people safe.

The outcome of the event is to produce a community led report and strategic recommendations.

*NB: The conference will be filmed by the organisers and may be filmed/covered by visiting media. To allow wider participation in the Q & A’s the panel discussions will be streamed on the conference Facebook page @nottscommunitysolutions